"The primary motivation for using technology in
education is the firm belief that it will stimulate learning"

Egypt’s Information Society, Oct 2005

The projects and programs under the ICT for Learning initiative collectively reflect
MCIT’s vision to use information and its underlying technologies to further sustainable
human development in Egypt and to build an information society capable of absorbing
and capitalizing upon the emerging knowledge revolution.

"… e-health programs to bring better diagnostic
and health services to a wider segment of the Egyptian society"

Egypt’s ICT Strategy

The Government of Egypt and its Ministry of Health have established several e-Health
programs to bring better diagnostic and health services to a wider segment of the
Egyptian society. MCIT has facilitated the integration of ICT in health services
and the provision of medical education to remote or underserved areas of Egypt.
The e-health initiative is inspired by pursuing equal opportunities for health services
anywhere in Egypt, and expanding medical insurance to all citizens.

"The main drive of the e-Government initiative
is to modernise the citizen's experience of public services and to improve the functionality
of the Egyptian government..."

Egypt’s Information Society, Oct 2005

MCIT was instrumental in introducing e-government in Egypt and extending ICT into
public services. As a general mandate, MCIT supports other ministries in facilitating
e-Government programs and services as part of the Egyptian Information Society Initiative
(EISI). One of the core objectives of the initiative is to modernize the way citizens
interact with their government by introducing ICTs to the internal operations of
government departments and to their interface with the public.

"e-content production is a key step in the establishment
of a knowledge society"

Egypt’s ICT Strategy

The digital content industry encompasses the creation, design, management and distribution
of digital products and services and the technologies that underpin these activities.
Egypt places high regard in developing and distributing Arabic e-Content that forms
the basis of intellectual and cultural inspiration for future generations. Accordingly,
MCIT has led the way to the establishment of an e-content industry in Egypt through
its Arabic e-content initiative. This initiative aims to enhance the competitiveness
of the Egyptian e-content industry by supporting the production, use and distribution
of Arabic digital content on global networks.

"Increasingly present in all forms of human activity,
ICT is fundamental to the progress of society"

Egypt’s ICT Strategy

Greening ICT, or applying user-friendly policies, has become a dire need. Environment
protection is an important issue for human safety, for sustaining social and economic
development, and for preserving natural gifts for next generations. ICT tools, widely
spread currently, constitute very important potential for protecting environment,
creating solutions for decreasing toxic emissions by other sectors.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology seeks to foster digital
citizenship by empowering members of society, especially youth, through ownership
of the tools and skills needed to develop and live in a knowledge-based society.

The Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology pays great attention to human development for all members of society
based on the fact that capacity-building and human skills are the key factors of
progress and achievement.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology seeks to promote research
and development, innovation and entrepreneurship in the field of ICT in order to
drive sector growth, support sustainable national development and position Egypt
as a regional innovation hub by 2020.

Egypt is actively engaged in efforts to develop regional and international agendas
and strategies in the field of information and communications technology.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology plays an instrumental
role in this regard through its support of and participation
in various multi-stakeholder partnerships, forums and working groups, as well as
through a large number of bilateral initiatives with countries around the world.

“Export IT” is a program supporting Egyptian exports of IT services and products. The program has been offered by Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to Egyptian IT companies. ITIDA provides a 10% fund of the added-value of the companies’ exports.

Dr. Kamel stated that “Export IT” program adds to the serious steps taken earlier by Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) to boost Egyptian IT exports and meet the needs of companies operating in IT. This in turn, he added, will reduce the negative impact of the World Financial Crisis.

The program comes within the MCIT strategy carried out through ITIDA to develop and prop up national software programming companies to be more competitive in external markets. Such support will help these companies realize the goal of exporting products worth more than $2 billion by the end of 2013, he added.

ITIDA CEO Dr. Hazem Abdelazim noted that the past phase witnessed a preparatory process for launching the program during which several meetings with non-governmental organizations representing Egyptian IT companies were held.

During the meetings, the two parties discussed the major requirements of Egyptian companies in a bid to overcome the aftermath of the crisis.

Dr. Abdelazim further pointed out that 154 companies signed up to join the program, 140 of them were accepted.

The added value in this context means the actual value of the effort of the exporting company.

The fund on the total value of a company’s exports does not count. Rather, the difference between the company’s revenue of exports and the input of machinery, accessories and licenses of ready-made software programs are counted.

ITIDA’s fund applies to payments received for exported products or services during 2009. Companies seeking to benefit from the program have to be members of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) database, Egyptian-owned and headquartered in Egypt with at least 80% of the payroll based in the country.

ITIDA had earlier announced that the final registration deadline for the program was the 31st of January, 2010 via the agency’s website.

The program represents the most recent efforts of ITIDA, conducting direct dialogue with IT companies to identify their needs for the coming phase.

Funding exports of companies enrolled in the "Export IT" program comes as part of the community partnership model of the ICT sector between the government and the business sector in Egypt.

The program also emphasizes the collaboration between the sector stakeholders and policy implementers, deriving several achievements and successes in the coming phase.